Reasons for Optimism

I know there's a lot of negativity going around on this sub given how BOB seems to have wrecked this franchise since effectively taking full control after the 2019 season. That being said, and now that BOB is gone, there are still some reasons to be optimistic about the future of the team.

• Deshaun Watson. There's a reason why this offense looked electric in 2017 and then stagnant 2018 and beyond. That reason is that BOB was trying to force a square peg into a round hole. In 2017, Watson didn't have time to learn the full offense, so TIM KELLY looked at his college film and built an offense to work to his strengths. Now with BOB gone, Kelly and Watson have full control over the offense. Expect to see more plays resembling what we ran in 2017.
• WR + TE + RB corps. Yes, BOB's roster and cap moves were atrocious this offseason. We're overpaying for Cobb and DJ, and we traded away a valuable pick for Cooks. That being said, this group still possesses a lot of talent. Cobb has complained about not being used properly. Cooks barely gets any targets. Fuller and Stills are valuable deep threats. Our TEs aren't world beaters, but Fells has proven valuable in the red zone with his 6'8" height, and Adkins provides a serviceable target. DJ and DJ can both catch passes coming out of the backfield. A Deshaun-friendly offense will give him the creative opportunities to make plays and find these guys open. Not to mention that we've generally done well on PA and plays with 2+ vertical routes. The problem: BOB infrequently dialed up those plays. Expect to see a lot more.
• The D has nowhere to go but up. Yes, they've been awful. But we're about to find out how much of that was BOB's fault for micromanaging the game plan. Weaver has shown creativity in his play calling and blitzes. Expect to see some different folks getting more snaps now that BOB is gone and not dictating who plays to the coordinators.
• Everyone's auditioning for their jobs. The assistant coaches likely will be gone next year, short of some sort of miraculous deep playoff run. Their incentive is to do well this year so that they can find their job next year. Tim Kelly needs to show that he can run an offense and that he's more than just a BOB minion. Same with Weaver RE the D. This team has no motivation to tank. There is no draft pick reward, and JJ + DW aren't going to sit there and let the team give up.
• The worst part of our schedule is behind us, and the division is winnable. The Titans are likely looking at some forfeits. The Colts are a paper tiger and are beatable. I'm not worried about the Jags. We could win this division with a 9-7 record.
• 7th Seed in the playoffs. There's now a 3rd Wild Card seed that can be ours.

I know this roster has a lot of holes thanks to BOB. We're paying too much for the wrong guys and let needed talent walk. That being said, there's no reason that this team can't be competitive this year, as long as DW4 stays healthy at QB.